out of steam
by walkingdisastersharkchild
Summary: same place. same people. different sequence of events. hinata-centric.


**just chillin' with my lil sis. pretty cool, eh?**

**read and review**

**disclaimer: don't own, don't care.  
**

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Hinata shifted, unsticking her bare legs from the train seat. Pain hit her hard and she refrained from hissing. As a way of distracting herself from the pain, she continued to gaze out the window at the river beneath them, silently counting the large stones she spotted sprouting out from the side.

When her head started to ache from the slight blurriness and concentration she was putting in to count the stones, she stopped and instead watched a lone fly trying to escape. She vaguely wondered why the fly didn't use the door.

She had daydreamed about this summer. Had waited a whole year. And now they were on their way. She knew it was unlikely to live up to her expectations. But it no longer mattered. So long as he was there.

At train station, the train came to a screeching halt. She removed her stuff from overhead while her friends laughed and joked about who was at the campsite this year. They departed the train and station for the camping grounds. A cluster of butterflies started running rampant deep in her belly.

As they neared the entrance, Sakura and Ino went off to register, linking arms and giggling. Each year they camped on the same spot, next to the same people. Hinata liked it that way, but sometimes wondered why they never changed.

_Didn't her friends ever get bored?_

As they got closer, she strained her neck. There it was. The all too familiar red tent, contrasting with the meadow behind. As she neared their reserved ground, she forced herself not to look for him.

He was sitting under the canvas yawning, a magazine on his lap. He glanced at her and she waved, smiling. He raised his hand and gave a small smile. She wondered if he'd been daydreaming about this too.

She put her bags on the ground and unpacked the tent. Their tent was the closest to the river, and when she woke up in the morning and opened the flap, she imagined she was the only one there. No other campers obstructed her view- only the clang of metal hitting metal and the colourful language of other fellow shinobi destroyed her fantasy.

TenTen helped her put up the tent and left, leaving her to chop up carrots for a salad.

Soon, it would be dusk. She glanced at his tent, but he'd disappeared. Perhaps inside or maybe he was waiting by the willow tree for her.

It had all happened so quickly last year. They'd hardly spoken before, only a few times on the streets, but he knew all the right things to say and his blue eyes reflected the crystal water below and the clear sky above. They'd had two weeks of secret meetings and hurried kisses by the water. But they'd been moments that seemed sharp now in her mind, as if the rest of her life had been just a dream. His arms around her waist, holding her close to him.

Sakura and Ino chatted to the boys in his tent as they opened the striped fold-up chairs, a routine that had existed forever. Hinata nodded at times, her eyes drifting up the water.

She'd have to go tomorrow; there was no way she could escape now.

And then she saw him, emerging from his tent in board shorts. She smiled to herself. But a girl followed close behind him. Blue bikini. And they were laughing. He was holding her hand, helping her out of the tent. Her orange hair caught in the zip and he untangled it.

Perhaps she was only a relative. Oh wait, scratch that, he had no relatives. And then he was kissing her passionately.

Sakura and Ino yelled at them to get a room. More laughter as they tried to stand up. Hinata looked down at the carrots. She wasn't disappointed. Not _really_. But she watched the girl jump on his back and tackle him to the ground.

It had been nothing. She hadn't even really liked him … _Loved him_ … Her heart echoed. She ignored her heart.

She hadn't even known him, only being the sideline girl, cheering him on even though she knew he would continue with _his_ dreams. She only watched him every so often when he trained, to make sure he didn't kill himself, and listened to him when he was down.

Besides, she'd forgotten it all already. It was only a vague memory, his soft lips on hers.

_Liar, liar, pants on fire._

The girl ran down to the river. So close that Hinata could've tripped her. Had she been _that_ kind of girl. That _vindictive_ kind.

She sometimes wished she was.

He followed, wading out to the girl, daring her to come after him.

Hinata put the chopped carrots in the bowl and began tearing off leaves of a lettuce.

She tried to keep her eyes off him, his broad chest, and the way he threw his head back when he laughed. He hadn't laughed that much with her.

The sun was poised on the horizon; the sky scarlet. They were surrounded by a light. A bubble of perfection.

And Hinata felt her heart dying. And she realised ... All it was just a little moment that was meant to end badly.


End file.
